The Challenge
Johnson Trube & Associates, a full-service real estate development brokerage and consulting firm, partnered with Catalyst to assist in the lease-up of Skyloft, a new 18-story student housing property in Austin, Texas. The property was in a unique position where the physical building did not yet exist, but marketing needed to take place during the construction phases to create awareness and excitement, leading to a strong pre-leasing effort.
The Solution
The Catalyst team established the brand look and feel along with the creation of a marketing strategy that would help support leasing efforts for the Skyloft team. A strong brand presence was created with visual appeal that caused the client to stand out among the more traditional competitors within a very saturated market.
To gain recognition within the market — and to get prospects in the market excited about the new property — Catalyst created a new brand. This included a variety of logo options that encompassed the modern, innovative feel of the new high-rise development. To play off the unique high-rise lifestyle, a new tagline also was written: “Raise your expectations.”
Branding elements featured sleek lines, a blue and teal gradient, bright pops of orange and yellow, and a pattern that matched the leasing office’s accent wall. To gain recognition within the market, Catalyst also created a brand sheet with energetic stock imagery, and branded deliverables included a brochure, a sales sheet, a handout, social graphics, and a paper system.
The Results
Skyloft provides a great example of how starting branding and marketing efforts early in the process leads to pre-leasing success. By November 2017, the property had leased more than 91.1% of their beds while still five months away from officially opening their doors. Skyloft also successfully established brand recognition in the market, as evidenced by their social media following and online rankings. Within the same seven-month time frame, Skyloft secured 650 leases — many of which were captured through the website Catalyst designed for the property to assist in the strong pre-leasing effort.